Oh, my. Well that is over. Those were my thoughts after Teddy finally made his appearance. This was by far my strangest labor.
With Kathrina, she was overdue by two days, when contractions started in early labor I knew we would be bringing home a baby soon. She was my longest labor and my most difficult as far as the hours of labor go. I didn't know what to expect and that always makes coping harder.
With Arabella, she was early by 9 days and had to be induced because we had a partial break of water and gone more than 24 hours without starting active labor. Her birth was the shortest, and I think her delivery was the easiest. I was only on pitocin long enough to start active labor, then they fully broke my water and I was free to walk the halls, use the tub and give birth naturally without any other medical intervention.
This time around, things were completely different. I started in early labor on Tuesday. Changes in my body made it clear that these weren't just Braxton Hicks or false labor. This means I get to tell Teddy when he's older that I was in labor with him for 3 days ;) Regular contractions all day Tuesday made changes in my cervix. Wednesday and Thursday brought good strong contractions although not regular. Finally Thursday night around 10 pm we got some nice, strong, regular contractions.
I laid down to try to sleep around 11 pm and the contractions got closer together--about 5 minutes apart now. A little after midnight I decided it was time to get ready to go to Topeka. We arrived at the birth center around 2am to discover that I was nearly 5 centimeters dilated. I was super excited since both of my previous labors took me from 6 to complete in only an hour. Needless to say, this was not the pattern for Teddy's birth.
I sat on an exercise ball for a while and around 3:30 decided it was time to get in the water. I was having contractions that radiated burning down my thighs and this has typically been a sign for me that I was nearing transition. I knew that the water could slow things down, but it never had with my previous labors, so I took the chance. The water helped immensely and I was very happy for about 2 1/2-3 hours. At that point, I was having some pushing sensations and thought transition must surely be right around the corner. I got out of the tub around 7am to see if that would help move things along. The midwife checked and I was so bummed to discover that I was only dilated to 7cm. After a quick trip to the bathroom and some time on the birthing stool, I was ready to get back in the water.
Some time before 8am I was entering transition for real and I was acutely aware of my body and my change of mood. The music got really irritating and the contractions were such that it took all my concentration to breathe through. I was gently pushing with each new contraction and around 8am started pushing for real sitting with my feet braced in the tub and holding on to Rich's hands for leverage.
It didn't take long before the bag of water was visible, but then no more progress was made. About 8:20/8:30 I got out of the tub to try a new position for delivery. Sitting on the birthing stool again, the midwife discovered why I wasn't making progress: my cervix was still only dilated to 9cm. At this point I had been pushing for quite a while, and was needing to deliver. She helped by pushing my cervix up around Teddy's head so that I could push past it. If you've never experienced this, I am happy for you, it is not a pleasant experience. But it was what was needed to get him here, and get him here it did! Pushing down to crowning took about two contractions and then waiting and blowing through another before delivering his head and getting a break before the shoulders all of this took less than 15 minutes.
Rich was a trooper. Given the option of helping to catch what will probably be our last baby, he made up his mind on the way to the birth center that he would. With the help of the midwife and assisting nurse, Rich caught our son and quickly went to wash up ;)
I stood up from the stool with help and was passed my baby, still attached through the umbilical cord. We snuggled on the bed for about 10 minutes while waiting for the chord to stop pulsating. Since Rich had helped to catch and he has cut the other two cords, I cut Teddy's cord myself before delivering the placenta.
After necessary vitals were checked, the practice at the birth center is to give the new family members time to bond and rest. We nursed, napped and nuzzled until 11am. Then they weighed him and measured him. We took a bath together in the tub and got all ready to go home.
We left the birth center around 1:30pm, not quite 12 hours after arriving. It was nice to go home and be in our element, sleep in our own bed, and not have hospital noises and people coming in and out all day and night.
Now a week and a half later, I feel more rested and better recovered than I did after either of my other births. Teddy is on his way to regaining his birth weight and starting to sleep sometimes two hours at a time, which is newborn heaven!
I didn't love every minute of this birth experience, but I wouldn't change it either. I am always amazed at what challenges this body of mine can face and conquer. So Teddy is here, we are stronger and more joyful than ever knowing that we made good choices leading up to his birth that have allowed us to grow even more connected as a family.
Thanks Topeka Birth and Women's Center! Thanks Norla, Mom, and Rich for the labor support. Thank you God for creating a woman's body to join you in your creative work in such a marvelous way, for giving me clarity of thought throughout the birth experience, for safety and health, for joy and peace, and for grace that surrounds and infuses all of life if we will but have open eyes to see.
